Automatic variable pitch sheet met



turret, the guide rail supporting the bottom end oi the containers terminating remote from said turret, and said rail supporting the upper end of the containers terminating over said turret, whereby the containers are deposited on said turret in upright position, and means operable to actuate said chains, container depositing means and said turret in timed relation.

4. A machine for coating containers comprising a frame, a tank mounted on the frame containing the coating medium, a conveyor arranged in the frame with the lower run of the conveyor extending through said coating medium, said conveyor being formed with a plurality of spaced apart cleats, and means operable in timed relation to the movement of said conveyor to discharge uncoated containers between said cleats, a guide rail operable to support the containers as they are conveyed by said conveyor, a turret journalled in the frame on a vertical axis and having a segmental portion extending beneath the upper rim of said conveyor, said turret being formed with container receiver pockets, said guide rail being formed with an interrupted portion above said turret and operable to discharge the coated containers in upright position on said turret. 1

JOHN F. PRICE.

1942. H. o. PUTT 2,302,054

AUTOMATIC VARIABLE PITCH SHEET METAL WIND MOTOR FOR USE IN WIND-POWER PLANTS Filed Aug. 5, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l gwua/wfom Nov. 17, 1942.

H. o. PUTT 2,302,054 AUTOMATIC VARIABLE PITCH SHEET METAL WIND MOTOR FOR USE IN WIND-POWER PLANTS Filed Aug. 5, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 NOV. 17, 1942. Q T 2,302,054

AUTOMATIC VARIABLE PITCH SHEET METAL WIND MOTOR FOR USE IN WIND-POWER PLANTS Filed Aug. 5, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 54 I 221 i l' Ab-5a H :1 1o! a. .120 j a 5! M h H {I WA 33-24 0 2i? -44 25 i i A r M 55244 17.--{' sf ifi 5; 55; :5 I 5' 5i 55 5 3mm Elm/W Patented Nov. 17, 1942 AUTOMATIC VARIABLE PITCH SHEET MET- AL WIND MOTOR FOR USE IN WIND- PQWER PLANTS Harlie 0. Putt, Elkhart, Ind. A pplication August 5, 1940,- Serial No. 351,516

8 Claims. (C1

The object of my invention is to provide an improved propeller structure adapted for use in combination with a hydraulic turbine transmission drive which I haveillustra'ted and described in a separate application Serial No. 348,866, filed July 31, 1940; but this propeller structure may also be employed with other types of mechanisms, such asv a fiy-ball governor.

The propellers or wind motors at present in use on all wind-power'plants are generally made of wood, usually nothing more than a board with its face planed on a bevel or angle to the axis .of rotation; others are formed of layers of plyxwood glued together'and properly shaped. When such propellers are exposed to rain, ice, heat and cold for a short time they become inefficient because ofwarpag'e or distortion and frequently water penetrates into the. wood through some small crack or break in the covering andcauses the propeller to swell and .split open. Consequently the propellers become'unbalanced and cause terifiic strains and vibration when running which eventually Wrecks bearings and other parts of the plant.

The ply-wood propeller is very expensive to produce for this purpose and its useful life is unpredictable, while the'single-ply board propeller is'too cheap and inefiicient for practical use.

A further object of my invention is to provide an inexpensive, light-weight andhighly efficient wind motor structure for use in developing power from the wind and which is capable of very sensitive and accurate control and which will be unaffected by any'weather conditionover lon periodsof time} Another object ofmy invention is to provide a propeller structure that may be duplicated in production with very close accuracyand without expensive equipment, material or labor and which may b easily assembled or disassembled.

It is also an object to provide a structure which may be fabricated from any suitable sheet material and of practically any desired area, dimenslon or pitch for use in the manner and for the purpose described. r

It is also my object to provide a wind motor blade structure which, in combination with associated parts, may be assembledand attached to a circular hub or :housing to form a two, three or four-bladed assembly whieh'will, under certain predetermined speed conditions, automatically; assume any required pitch angle from the tip inward for the purpose of effecting control of its maximum speed of rotation in high wind ve-. locitles and secure high efficiency in low wind velocities, by means of a hydraulically actuated control rod and associated parts substantially as illustrated and described in my co-pending application entitled Hydraulic turbine transmission.

It is also an object to provide a sheet metal wind motor blade structure and formation that will have an inherent speed control characteristic without alteration of its pitch angle as hereinafter more fully described and as illustrated in the drawings.

I attain these and other objects of my invention by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a rear elevation of a wind motor blade and associated parts;

Fig. 2 is an edge elevation viewed from the leading edge of the wind motor;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the sheet metal wind motor blade blank before being formed;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the inner end of the wind motor blade assembly shown in Fig. 1, formed and attached to its shank 0r hub bearing member;

Fig. 5 is an end View of the outer end of the wind motor blade showing the tip and anchor bracket also shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a two-bladed propeller and hydraulic transmission housing with the propeller blades in the normal running position and rotating in a clockwise direction;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view of the sheet metal wind motor blade approximately on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6, showing the position of the blade with reference to rotation and wind direction;

Fig. 8 is a front elevation, similar to Fig. 6, except with the blades partly t urned to control speed;

Fig. 9 is a section of the lower blade approximately on line 9-9 of Fig. 8, showing the blades partly turned; 1

Fig, 10 is a front elevation with-the blades turned still further out of the normal running position;

Fig. 11 is a section on line lI-ll of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a front elevation showing the blades turned to' the extreme control position; and

Fig. 13 is a section on the line Iii-I3 of Fig. 12.

While details of only one propeller wind motor and associated parts are shown, it will be understood that two or more blades, equally spaced from each other on their hub or housing member, will always be employed and that the component parts of each blade are identical.

With reference to Fig. l, a blank is cut from thin sheet material to form a propeller or wind motor blade 54 of the approximate shape shown in Fig. 3. This blank is then formed with a curved leading edge 55a, widest at the shank and tapered toward the tip, as shown in Figs, 1 and 2. The blade 54 has a trailing edge 555, as shown, while its forward edge 55a is curved in cross section, as shown in Figs. '7, 9, 11 and 13 with the free edge 55c spaced from the face of the blade and forward of the trailing edge. A shank bearing or fulcrum member 3 is affixed to the blade by means of the screws 4 and 5. The fulcrum member 3 is counterbored, as shown in Fig. l to form a beveled seat 22 for a correspondingly beveled stud 2| which is formed integral with the housing or hub member I, as shown in Fig. 2. A control rod I1 is secured to a short vane memher I I by the set screw I8. The vane member II has a beveled seat 23 in the housing I, as shown in Fig. 2, to prevent leakage of fluid. A coil compression spring 24 is positioned around the rod I7 and bears at one end against the fulcrum member 3 and at the other end against a slidably adjustable collar 25 while the blades are being assembled. Collar 25 is positioned on the rod I! and is secured in position by means of a set screw 26, to force the seating of the member II at beveled seat 23, and of the member 3 at beveled seat 22, while the blades are being assembled. A spring I9 is connected at one end to vane I I and at the other end to hub housing I.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, a propeller blade 54 has a suitable metal bracket 51 riveted to it at its extreme tip by rivets 56. This bracket is formed to receive the extreme outward end of the rod IT in which a groove has been cut, and when properly positioned, the bracket is swaged into this groove at 58, as shown in Fig. 2, to rigidly secure the propeller blade tip to the rod.

Shank bearings 3 do not contact with the adjacent portions'of housing I but have a definite clearance, as shown in Fig. 2. There is therefore no frictional engagement between the shank bearing 3 and the housing I. The springs 24 press against the member 3 while the mechanism is being assembled or adjusted to obtain a bearing fit at the beveled seat 22 for the correspondingly beveled stud 2| to force the beveled surfaces into bearing contact with their respective beveled seats for the purpose of forming an internal and external seal. After the tension or pressure of the springs 24 has been secured after tightening the set screws 26 in the collars 25 on rods I'I, the respective vanes II along with the respective rods I! to which they are held rigid in their normal position, while the shank bearing 3 with the wind motor blades in place and attached to the shank bearing 3 are twisted to the desired degree in a clockwise direction and attached to rod I1 and l'Ia by means of set screw 53 or equivalent means. This imparts a, definite pitch to the blade which is fixed, but may be altered or adjusted to any desired degree. Thus the angle of the entire blade in relation to the wind is varied to a degree proportional to fluid pressure against the vanes II.

In adjusting the fixed pitch of the propeller or, wind motor, the blade tip may be held rigid in a vise or clamp and the fulcrum member 3 may be turned in the proper direction and to the proper degree to twist the blade so as to impart any pitch angle desired to the blade, which is fixed in the desired permanent position or twist relative to its opposite ends by tightening the set screw 53, as shown in'Figs, ;1-, 2 and 4.

For the sake of clarity, this twist in the blade was omitted in the drawings'but it will be clearly evident that any desired pitch angle within practical limits may be provided. This setting of the pitch angle of each propeller blade is made only after the blades have been assembled to their hub or housing I, to insure uniformity of the setting of all blades.

In operation, the control function is accomplished by causing the entire blade assembly to turn slightly on its fulcrum to vary its position in relation to the wind direction and its rotation and this action is induced by means of fluid pressure against the fiat face of the vane II which is situated within the hydraulic housing, constituting the hub of the propeller assembly and which is fully illustrated and described in my copending application relating to a hydraulic turbine transmission drive.

The hydraulic pressure against the vane members II is uniformly equal on all of them at any given speed of rotation and each member II is held in its normal position by springs of uniform tension, so that each blade control movement will occur synchronously. Thus, breakage of one or more of the tension springs I9 (see Figs. 6 and 8) would force the corresponding blades to the controlled or inoperative position, reduce speed and consequent fluid pressure against the vane members II, and bring such blades edgewise to the wind.

The circular leading edge 55a provides a highly efficient air-foil and is easily and quickly formed upon a tapered steel mandril. The dimensions of the air-foil can be made maximum for any given blade width and length. The greater the radius of this rounded leading edge, the greater the power and speed of the propeller of a given diameter in a given wind velocity.

With reference to Figs. 6 and 7, when the wind is blowing against the propeller in the direction indicated, the resultant positive and negative pressure effect is indicated in Fig. '7 by the plus and minus marks. The minus marks indicate a partial vacuum formed along the leading edge of the blade, tending to pull the blade in the direction indicated, while the plus marks indicate the area of pressure of the wind against the blade, tending to cause rotation in the same direction. This difierential pressure effect will extend over the entire length of the blade only when same is stationary or rotating'at a speed in feet per minute, (at any radial point of the blade), less than the speed of the wind in feet per minute. The higher the wind velocity, the greater the pressure differential. If it is assumed that the blades remain in the same position with reference to rotation and wind direction, that is, do not turnout-of the wind, when the rota tive speed of the blade becomes greater than the tendency of the air speed to drive it in its direc; tion of rotation, the pressure becomes negative on the normal positive side and positive on the negative side and this condition is intensified by the novel construction of the air foil, the normal negative side being shorter than the normal positive side and causing a partial vacuum effect inside the curved section of the blade, which would cause a powerful drag and prevent the'further acceleration of the propeller in that'specific wind velocity, due to the positive force on the normal trailing edge-of the blade, as shown by the positive and negative signs in Fig. 13. At all other areas of the leadingedge, the differential-pressure effect would remain as shown in Fig. 7, 

